Trip.com Group (NASDAQ:TCOM) Is Making Moderate Use Of Debt

The external fund manager backed by Berkshire Hathaway's Charlie Munger, Li Lu, makes no bones about it when he says 'The biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital.' So it seems the smart money knows that debt - which is usually involved in bankruptcies - is a very important factor, when you assess how risky a company is. We can see that Trip.com Group Limited (NASDAQ:TCOM) does use debt in its business. But should shareholders be worried about its use of debt?

When Is Debt Dangerous?

Debt assists a business until the business has trouble paying it off, either with new capital or with free cash flow. Part and parcel of capitalism is the process of 'creative destruction' where failed businesses are mercilessly liquidated by their bankers. However, a more usual (but still expensive) situation is where a company must dilute shareholders at a cheap share price simply to get debt under control. Of course, the upside of debt is that it often represents cheap capital, especially when it replaces dilution in a company with the ability to reinvest at high rates of return. The first thing to do when considering how much debt a business uses is to look at its cash and debt together.

See our latest analysis for Trip.com Group

What Is Trip.com Group's Debt?

As you can see below, at the end of September 2020, Trip.com Group had CN¥66.1b of debt, up from CN¥57.4b a year ago. Click the image for more detail. On the flip side, it has CN¥47.4b in cash leading to net debt of about CN¥18.7b.

How Healthy Is Trip.com Group's Balance Sheet?

Zooming in on the latest balance sheet data, we can see that Trip.com Group had liabilities of CN¥61.4b due within 12 months and liabilities of CN¥36.6b due beyond that. Offsetting this, it had CN¥47.4b in cash and CN¥5.78b in receivables that were due within 12 months. So its liabilities outweigh the sum of its cash and (near-term) receivables by CN¥44.7b.

This deficit isn't so bad because Trip.com Group is worth a massive CN¥123.1b, and thus could probably raise enough capital to shore up its balance sheet, if the need arose. However, it is still worthwhile taking a close look at its ability to pay off debt. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. But it is future earnings, more than anything, that will determine Trip.com Group's ability to maintain a healthy balance sheet going forward. So if you want to see what the professionals think, you might find this free report on analyst profit forecasts to be interesting.

Over 12 months, Trip.com Group made a loss at the EBIT level, and saw its revenue drop to CN¥22b, which is a fall of 38%. To be frank that doesn't bode well.

Caveat Emptor

While Trip.com Group's falling revenue is about as heartwarming as a wet blanket, arguably its earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) loss is even less appealing. To be specific the EBIT loss came in at CN¥827m. When we look at that and recall the liabilities on its balance sheet, relative to cash, it seems unwise to us for the company to have any debt. Quite frankly we think the balance sheet is far from match-fit, although it could be improved with time. We would feel better if it turned its trailing twelve month loss of CN¥2.2b into a profit. So we do think this stock is quite risky. The balance sheet is clearly the area to focus on when you are analysing debt. However, not all investment risk resides within the balance sheet - far from it. Case in point: We've spotted 1 warning sign for Trip.com Group you should be aware of.

When all is said and done, sometimes its easier to focus on companies that don't even need debt. Readers can access a list of growth stocks with zero net debt 100% free, right now.

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